Funbio

What Funbio does

Funbio (Fundo Brasileiro para a Biodiversidade) is a Brazilian private non-profit financial mechanism founded in 1996 and headquartered in Rio de Janeiro, with a secondary office in Brasília. It is the only civil society institution in the Southern Hemisphere accredited as both a Global Environment Facility (GEF) implementing agency and a Green Climate Fund (GCF) accredited entity. The organization channels strategic and financial resources from multilateral climate and biodiversity funds (GEF, GCF, KfW), sovereign donors (NICFI/Norway), Brazil's national development bank (BNDES), private sector partners (Petrobras, Heineken), reparations mechanisms (Fundação Renova), and state governments (Government of Pará) into biodiversity conservation and ecological restoration projects. Its portfolio spans 700+ projects and 400+ beneficiary institutions across all Brazilian biomes, with active programs including Floresta Viva (R$470M restoration target), Reabilita CETAS (R$211M wildlife triage centers), COPAÍBAS (NICFI-funded indigenous and protected areas), GEF Mar (marine/coastal protection covering 36 UCs), Tradição e Futuro (Kayapó indigenous lands, 12M hectares), ARPA, and the Fundo da Amazônia Oriental.

Functionally, Funbio operates as a fund manager and fiduciary intermediary. Its core operational platform is the C3 (Cérebro 3) corporate management system, under development with Camunda 8 process automation, supplemented by proprietary geoprocessing and remote sensing for restoration monitoring and the FASB matchfunding/incubation methodology used in the Conectando Paisagens initiative with BNDES and iNovaland. Revenue is generated via fund management fees on the conservation and climate assets it administers; the organization does not sell commercial products or services. Demand is generated through formal Chamadas de Projetos (Calls for Projects) published on its dedicated portal, which select implementing partners from civil society organizations, indigenous groups, cooperatives, and government bodies.

Its customer base is structurally bifurcated. Upstream, Funbio serves institutional funders (BNDES, GEF, GCF, NICFI, KfW, Fundação Renova, Petrobras, the Government of Pará, and emerging private sector partners such as Heineken). Downstream, it serves implementing partners including federal and state environmental agencies (IBAMA, ICMBio, state environmental institutes), civil society NGOs, indigenous peoples (Kayapó, etc.), traditional communities (quilombolas, quebradeiras de coco, riverside populations), and academic/research institutions (via the Bolsas FUNBIO fellowship program supporting 251+ researchers since 2018). Reporting and grantmaking on individual projects range from R$150,000 to R$30M, with flagship programs deploying tens to hundreds of millions of BRL.

Name

Funbio

Legal name

Fundo Brasileiro para a Biodiversidade (FUNBIO)

Website

https://funbio.org.br

Company type

Private

Founded year

1996

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Funbio is a Brazilian non-profit financial mechanism founded in 1996 that manages multilateral and government conservation funds and channels them into biodiversity, ecological restoration, and indigenous territorial projects across all Brazilian biomes, serving federal agencies, NGOs, indigenous peoples, and traditional communities.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Conservation Finance and Environmental Fund Management

NAICS

Environment, Conservation and Wildlife Organizations (813312), Forest Nurseries and Gathering of Forest Products (11321)

SIC

Forestry (800)

akta.pro primary industry

Biodiversity & Habitat Conservation (BPAGAGAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Nature, Biodiversity & Ecosystem Conservation (BPADALAE), Biodiversity, Conservation & Natural Capital Funds (FSANAJAG), Conservation, Restoration & Biodiversity Services (Habitat, Wetlands, Riparian) (IMAMAJAH), Sustainable Agriculture, Food Systems & Land Management (BPADALAG)

Keywords

• Biodiversity conservation
• Conservation fund management
• Ecological restoration
• Climate finance mechanism
• Protected areas management

Headquarters

HQ city

Botafogo

HQ country

Brazil

HQ region

Latin America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Fund Management Fees: Funbio earns fees for managing biodiversity and climate funds on behalf of governments, multilateral institutions, and private sector partners. As a fund manager, it charges management fees for financial administration, project oversight, and reporting services.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Funbio is a private non-profit financial mechanism that manages biodiversity and climate conservation funds from multilateral institutions (GEF, GCF), development banks (BNDES, KfW), governments (Norway/NICFI, Pará state), and private sector partners. It channels these resources to conservation implementing organizations across all Brazilian biomes through formal public calls for projects, fiduciary oversight, procurement, and reporting. Major programs include ecological restoration (Floresta Viva), protected areas support (ARPA, GEF Mar), indigenous and traditional community initiatives (COPAÍBAS, Mecanismo Vítuke, Tradição e Futuro na Amazônia, Fundo Kayapó), wildlife rehabilitation (Reabilita CETAS), private climate finance (FINACLIMA-SP), and research fellowships (Bolsas FUNBIO).

Product overview

FUNBIO (Fundo Brasileiro para a Biodiversidade) is a private national financial mechanism operating without profit motive, working in partnership with government, business, and civil society to direct strategic and financial resources toward effective biodiversity conservation initiatives. The organization functions as a platform managing multiple specialized programs including ecological restoration (Floresta Viva), indigenous territorial management (Tradição e Futuro, Mecanismo Vítuke, Fundo Kayapó), conservation of protected areas (ARPA, COPAÍBAS, GEF MAR), coastal/marine protection (Fundo Marinho, Reabilita CETAS), Amazon development (Fundo da Amazônia Oriental, AMAZÔNIA VIVA), climate financing (FINACLIMA-SP), and research support (Bolsas FUNBIO). Additionally, the Portal de Chamadas provides an online platform for managing project calls and funding selections across all programs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Floresta Viva Ecological restoration program for Brazilian biomes using resources from BNDES Socioenvironmental Fund and supporting institutions. Manages public calls for restoration projects with species native to each biome. Targets R$470 million in resource mobilization; 15 editais totaling R$331.1 million already deployed.
• ARPA (Áreas Protegidas da Amazônia) The world's largest tropical forest conservation program, supporting protected areas in the Amazon biome.
• COPAÍBAS - Comunidades Tradicionais, Povos Indígenas e Áreas Protegidas Program established in 2020 to reduce deforestation rates and conserve forests in Amazon and Cerrado biomes, supporting indigenous peoples and traditional communities with funding from NICFI. Supports 1.9 million hectares across 26 conservation units and 58 indigenous lands.
• Tradição e Futuro na Amazônia Project for territorial and environmental management of five Kayapó Indigenous Lands in Pará and Mato Grosso, promoting carbon stock maintenance, biodiversity, and traditional knowledge. Supports 12 million hectares across 57 indigenous villages in the Kayapó territory.
• Mecanismo indígena Vítuke Indigenous mechanism providing direct resources to indigenous peoples across all Brazilian biomes for biodiversity conservation.
• Reabilita CETAS Project to strengthen and rehabilitate Wildlife Triage Centers (CETAS) across Brazil, with R$211 million investment from Fundação Renova for infrastructure improvements and new center construction.
• GEF MAR - Áreas Marinhas e Costeiras Protegidas Federal government project coordinated by MMA with financial and operational management by FUNBIO, strengthening protection and management of marine and coastal environments through support to 36 conservation units covering approximately 97.9 million hectares.
• Bolsas FUNBIO - Conservando o Futuro Fellowship program supporting applied field research for master's and doctoral students at MEC-recognized institutions. Since 2018, has supported over 250 researchers (194 doctoral, 57 master's) from 56 institutions across all Brazilian biomes.
• Fundo da Amazônia Oriental (FAO) Innovative private financial mechanism created by the Pará state government in 2019 for strengthening public policies and social initiatives focused on environment and development through 2036, with FUNBIO serving as selected fund manager.
• Programa de Conservação da Biodiversidade do Litoral do Paraná Conservation program for Paraná's coastal biodiversity, executing resources from the 2012 Judicial Agreement (TAJ) involving Petrobras, public prosecutors, and environmental agencies.
• FINACLIMA-SP Mechanism that enables private resource contributions to expand and improve climate financing in the state of São Paulo.
• AMAZÔNIA VIVA Financing mechanism that strengthens organizations, businesses, and sociobiodiversity value chains in the Amazon.
• Fundo Kayapó Indigenous mechanism with mission to support the Mebêngôkre-Kayapó people.
• Portal de Chamadas FUNBIO Online portal for project calls and selections, allowing organizations to submit proposals, receive information, and track applications for funding opportunities across all Funbio programs.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 700 projects supported since 1996
• +8 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• IBAMA (Instituto Brasileiro do Meio Ambiente e dos Recursos Naturais Renováveis)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIBAMA is a key governmental partner, with Funbio executing conservation programs under formal cooperation agreements, including Reabilita CETAS (with IBAMA as focal point), GEF Terrestre, and other national environmental initiatives.
• ICMBio (Instituto Chico Mendes de Conservação da Biodiversidade)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerICMBio is the federal institute managing Brazil's protected areas. Funbio supports ICMBio-managed conservation units through programs including COPAÍBAS, APOIO A UCs, ARPA, and the Cagarras trail project, providing infrastructure, planning, and operational support.
• iNovalandcoreStrategic or Co-development PartneriNovaland partners with BNDES on the Conectando Paisagens matchfunding initiative under Floresta Viva. iNovaland contributes the FASB methodology for project incubation and acceleration, applied across restoration projects in the Mata Atlântica corridor.
• Fundo da Amazônia Oriental (FAO)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFundo da Amazônia Oriental is a state-level innovative private financial mechanism created by the Pará government to mobilize private resources for Amazon conservation. Funbio serves as the selected fund manager.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Fundo Amazônia: Brazilian federal conservation fund managed by BNDES, channeling international donor contributions (notably Norway and Germany) to Amazon deforestation reduction projects. Directly comparable to Funbio as a Brazilian conservation finance intermediary, with overlapping funder base and project ecosystem.
• WWF-Brasil: Brazilian arm of the World Wildlife Fund, executing biodiversity conservation programs across Brazilian biomes. Comparable in mission (biodiversity conservation) and project categories, with overlapping corporate and multilateral funder relationships and a similar scale of field operations.
• The Nature Conservancy Brasil: Brazilian office of TNC running conservation, restoration, and water-security programs. Direct comparable in target market (Brazilian biomes) and offering (project execution, funder intermediation, ecological restoration), with strong private-sector and multilateral partnerships.
• Conservation International Brasil: Brazilian operations of CI executing biodiversity and climate finance programs in the Amazon and other biomes. Comparable in funder intermediation model, indigenous community engagement, and program execution at scale across Brazilian states.
• Instituto Socioambiental (ISA): Major Brazilian environmental NGO focused on Amazon indigenous peoples, traditional communities, and biodiversity. Comparable in indigenous territorial management programs, biodiversity data infrastructure, and advocacy for traditional community resource rights.
• SOS Mata Atlântica: Brazilian conservation nonprofit focused on Atlantic Forest protection, reforestation, and policy advocacy. Comparable in biome-specific conservation programs, reforestation execution, and Brazilian donor/membership base.
• Plataforma Parceiros pela Amazônia (PPA): Brazilian multi-stakeholder platform mobilizing investment for sustainable production chains and conservation in the Amazon. Comparable in matchfunding architecture, private-sector intermediation, and Amazon biome focus.
• Fundo Vale: Private corporate foundation of Vale S.A. financing Amazon conservation, restoration, and sustainable production chains. Comparable in scale of conservation finance, corporate co-investment model, and project execution capacity in Brazilian biomes.

Emerging players

• Imaflora: Brazilian institute focused on sustainable forestry certification, agricultural sustainability, and climate-smart production. Comparable in Brazilian biome focus and on-the-ground project execution, with greater specialization in certification and supply-chain programs versus Funbio's broader fund management scope.

Others

• IDH - The Sustainable Trade Initiative: International foundation convening public-private partnerships for sustainable commodity production, with significant Brazil operations. Comparable in landscape-level conservation finance and corporate-public matchmaking model, though focused on commodity supply chains rather than biodiversity fund management.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/funbio
• Facebookfacebook.com/funbio.org.br
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/funbio

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Funbio